Reservoir for liquid and/or gaseous media and cooling system for an internal combustion engine

ABSTRACT

A reservoir includes an orifice, a cover for closing the orifice and at least one blocking device for blocking the cover against opening in the event of excess pressure in the reservoir. The blocking device blocks the cover by a form fit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application claims priority to Application No. 102 46 590.8, filed in the Federal Republic of Germany on Oct. 5, 2002, which is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to a reservoir and to a cooling system.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

[0003] Reservoirs of the type referred to here are believed to be convention. See, e.g., German Published Patent Application No. 32 26 508. They are used, for example, in connection with a cooling system for internal combustion engines in motor vehicles, as compensating reservoirs and serve for the storage of a cooling liquid. The reservoir has an orifice capable of being closed by a cover. During operation, the pressure in the cooling system rises due to the heating of the cooling liquid. In order to prevent the reservoir from opening in this operating state, since hot liquid and vapor may emerge, a blocking device for blocking the cover against opening in the event of excess pressure in the reservoir is provided. The blocking device has a blocking pin which, in the event of excess pressure in the reservoir, is brought into bearing contact with a region of the inner wall of the cover, the blocking device being designed such that the frictionally generated blocking action of the blocking pin is increased with rising excess pressure. Whether the reservoir can still be opened under a specific excess pressure therefore depends on the strength of the operator. On account of this design, it cannot be ruled out that, in spite of excess pressure in the reservoir, the cover can be loosened and removed, with the result that injuries to the operator as a consequence of emerging hot liquid and vapor may occur.

[0004] It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a reservoir of the type mentioned in the introduction, in which a risk of injury as a consequence of emerging hot liquid and/or vapor when the reservoir is opened may be reduced, minimized or eliminated.

SUMMARY

[0005] The above and other beneficial aspects of the present invention may be achieved by providing a reservoir and a cooling system as described herein.

[0006] In accordance with an example embodiment, at least one blocking device blocks the cover by form fit. The blocking device thus has at least one blocking element for producing the form fit, which may be displaced into a blocking position and in the blocking position is subjected to shearing-off stress when an attempt is made to release the cover. The blocking action of the blocking device, that is to say the forces which, when an attempt is made to release the cover, counteract this, may therefore be, in contrast to conventional blocking devices, not dependent on the pressure or the temperature inside the reservoir and may therefore always be the same.

[0007] In an example embodiment, the blocking device may have at least one displaceably mounted blocking pin which is arranged on the reservoir and which may be moved into a recess in the cover. Alternatively, there may be provision for the recess to be located on the reservoir and for the blocking pin to be arranged on the cover.

[0008] The cover may be arranged as a screw cover which may be screwed onto the reservoir, e.g., onto a connection piece provided on the latter. Alternatively, there may be provision for the cover to be fastened to the reservoir by latching and/or snap connection, for example, a bayonet connection. Further design variants are possible.

[0009] In an exemplary embodiment of the reservoir, the blocking pin may be displaced into a blocking position by a piston/cylinder unit and into a release position by a spring force. Displacement into the release position may thus take place automatically when the spring force exceeds by a specific amount the forces applied to the blocking pin by the piston/cylinder unit. The construction of the blocking device may thereby be simplified.

[0010] According to an example embodiment of the present invention, there may be provision for the actuation of the blocking device to be controlled by the pressure prevailing in the interior of the reservoir. There may therefore be no need for any additional device(s) for displacing the blocking pin into the blocking position. When a specific limit pressure is reached inside the reservoir, the blocking pin is automatically displaced into the blocking position counter to the spring force. When the excess pressure in the reservoir is reduced to a harmless amount, for example, due to the cooling of the liquid and/or gaseous medium located in the reservoir, the at least one spring element cooperating with the blocking pin presses or pulls the blocking pin back into its release position, so that the cover may safely be loosened and removed from the reservoir.

[0011] According to an example embodiment of the reservoir, there may be provision for the actuation of the blocking device to be controlled as a function of the temperature in the reservoir. The blocking action/form fit of the blocking device is canceled only when the temperature of the medium located in the reservoir is so low that scalding of the operator may be ruled out if the operator comes into contact with the medium. The temperature-dependent control may be carried out in a simple manner, for example, by a bimetallic element which cooperates with the blocking pin and which is connected to the reservoir interior and is deformed in the event of a temperature rise and at the same time displaces the blocking pin positively into the blocking position, that is to say moves it into the recess. Alternatively to a bimetallic element, other actuating elements may also be used, which change their shape and/or size reversibly in the event of a temperature change, in such a manner that the blocking pin may thereby be displaced, e.g., directly, into the blocking position. In order to implement a particularly compact form of construction of the blocking device, the abovementioned actuating element may be coupled directly to the blocking pin.

[0012] According to an example embodiment of the present invention, the blocking device may be designed in such a manner that the adjustment of the at least one blocking pin into its blocking and release position may be controlled in a both pressure-dependent and temperature-dependent manner, as described above. It is also readily possible for the blocking device to have at least two blocking pins, of which one blocking pin may be displaced into the blocking and release position in a pressure-dependent manner and the other in a temperature-dependent manner. That is to say, when the pressure in the reservoir and the temperature of the medium located in it exceed predetermined limit values, both blocking pins simultaneously or, if appropriate, even only one of the two blocking pins may be displaced into the blocking position. The blocking pins may therefore be displaced independently of one another, e.g., each of the blocking pins being assigned in each case a spring element for moving back into the release position and, e.g., in each case at least one recess for producing the form fit in the blocking position.

[0013] In an exemplary embodiment of the reservoir, the cover may be rotated, e.g., screwed, onto a connection piece having the orifice and has a closing part projecting into the connection piece in the rotated-on state. According to an example embodiment, the recess, into which the blocking pin moves in order to produce the form fit, is provided on the circumference of the closing part and may be formed, for example, by a peripheral groove. The direction of displacement of the blocking pin extends in the radial direction to the outer circumference of the closing part. According to an example embodiment, the recess arranged on the closing part extends in the direction of longitudinal extent of the connection piece and may be formed, for example, by a bore. The direction of displacement of the blocking pin extends parallel or essentially parallel to the entry or exit movement of the closing part into or out of the connection piece.

[0014] In order to ensure that, after the cover has been rotated onto the reservoir, the recess stands above the blocking pin so that the latter may move into the recess, in an example embodiment of the reservoir, a device may be provided for the positionally accurate reproducible arrangement of the cover with respect to the blocking device. These may include, for example, a resilient latching element which latches into a depression when the cover is rotated on. The latching element is arranged either on the cover or on the reservoir, while the depression is located on the other part in each case. In an example embodiment, the latching element is integrally formed on the cover or on a cover part, for example, the closing part.

[0015] The reservoir according to an example embodiment of the present invention may be used, in general, for receiving liquid and gaseous media, for example, as a compensating reservoir for a cooling system which has a cooling liquid and which serves, for example, for cooling an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle.

[0016] In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, a reservoir includes a cover configured to close an orifice and at least one blocking device configured to block the cover against opening in accordance with excess pressure in the reservoir, the blocking device arranged to block the cover by a form fit.

[0017] The blocking device may include at least one displaceably mounted blocking pin arranged on the reservoir and movable into a recess arranged in the cover.

[0018] The reservoir may further include a piston/cylinder unit configured to displace the blocking pin into a blocking position and a spring device configured to displace the blocking pin into a release position by a spring force.

[0019] Actuation of the blocking device may be controllable by a pressure prevailing in an interior of the reservoir.

[0020] Actuation of the blocking device may be controllable as a function of a temperature in the reservoir.

[0021] The orifice may be arranged in a connection piece, the cover one of rotatable and screwable onto the connection piece, the cover including a closing part configured to project into the connection piece in a rotated-on state, the cover including a recess configured to receive the blocking device one of arranged on a circumference of the closing part and extending in a direction of longitudinal extent of the connection piece.

[0022] The reservoir may further include an arrangement configured to positionally accurately reproducibly locate the cover with respect to the blocking device so that a blocking pin of the blocking device is movable into a recess of the cover in a screwed-on position.

[0023] The blocking device may include at least one displaceably mounted blocking pin arranged on the cover and movable into a recess arranged in the reservoir.

[0024] The reservoir may be arranged as a compensating reservoir of a cooling system having a cooling liquid adapted to cool an internal combustion engine.

[0025] The reservoir may include means for controlling actuation of the blocking device in accordance with a pressure prevailing in an interior of the reservoir.

[0026] The reservoir may include means for controlling actuation of the blocking device as a function of a temperature in the reservoir.

[0027] The reservoir may include means for displacing the blocking pin into a blocking position and for displacing the blocking pin into a release position by a spring force.

[0028] The reservoir may include means for positionally accurately reproducibly locating the cover with respect to the blocking device so that a blocking pin of the blocking device is movable into a recess in the cover.

[0029] In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, a reservoir may include cover means for closing an orifice and blocking means for blocking the cover means by a form fit against opening in accordance with excess pressure in the reservoir.

[0030] Further exemplary embodiments of the reservoir may be gathered from the features mentioned herein.

[0031] The present invention also relates to a cooling system, e.g., for an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, which has a compensating reservoir.

[0032] In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, a cooling system may include a compensating reservoir including a cover configured to close an orifice and at least one blocking device configured to block the cover against opening in accordance with excess pressure in the reservoir, the blocking device arranged to block the cover by a form fit.

[0033] Example embodiments of the present invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a cover for a compensating reservoir of a cooling system and of an exemplary embodiment of the blocking device according to the present invention.

[0035]FIG. 2 illustrates, in a longitudinal cross-sectional view, a detail of an exemplary embodiment of the compensating reservoir with a blocking device illustrated FIG. 1 attached to it.

[0036]FIG. 3 illustrates, in a perspective view, a top view of the compensating reservoir obliquely from above onto an orifice capable of being closed by the cover.

[0037]FIG. 4 illustrates, in a perspective view, a detail of the compensating reservoir with a viewing direction from the reservoir interior onto the orifice.

[0038]FIG. 5 illustrates, in a perspective view, a detail of the compensating reservoir with the cover placed on it.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039]FIGS. 1 and 5 illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a cover 1 for closing an orifice 3 of a compensating reservoir 5, details of which are illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5, of a cooling system of a motor vehicle.

[0040] The cover 1 has a multi-part design and includes an outer part 7 for screwing and unscrewing the cover 1 onto and off the compensating reservoir 5, and a closing part 9 which, in the screwed-on state, projects into a connection piece 11, having the orifice 3, of the compensating reservoir 5 or is arranged therein. In FIG. 2, an external thread is illustrated, which is provided on the connection piece 11 and onto which may be screwed the outer part 7 provided with a corresponding internal thread. The orifice 3 in the compensating reservoir 5, via which orifice cooling fluid may be introduced or topped up, is closed, e.g., in a conventional manner, by the closing part 9 which, for this purpose, may have a corresponding sealing arrangement. The cover 1 includes, furthermore, a pressure-relief valve arrangement. The construction and function of the cover 1 may be conventional.

[0041] When the cooling system is in operation, the cooling liquid, for example, water, located in it is heated up, thus leading to a pressure rise. If the cover 1 is removed from the compensating reservoir 5 in this state, a possibly violent emergence of cooling liquid may occur. In order to prevent this, a blocking device 13, which is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, is provided, which, in the event of excess pressure in the compensating reservoir 5, blocks the cover 1 against opening.

[0042] The blocking device 13 is arranged, here, at a fixed location on the compensating reservoir 5 and has a blocking pin 15 which is connected to a piston 19 guided in a cylinder 17. With the cover 1 screwed on, the blocking pin 15 may be moved into a recess 20 (FIG. 1) on the closing part 9, this being dealt with in more detail.

[0043] The blocking pin 15 passes through a passage orifice 21 in the cylinder 17 and may be moved into and out of the latter. The cylinder 17 is closed by a cylinder cover 23 which is provided with a passage bore 25. The piston 19 is thereby connected to the interior of the compensating reservoir 5. Furthermore, in the cylinder 17, a spring element 27 is provided, which is arranged on that side of the piston 19 which faces away from a pressure space 29 connected to the reservoir interior via the passage bore 25. The spring element 27, formed here by a helical spring, presses the piston 19 against the cylinder cover 23 in the pressureless state of the cooling system or in the event of low pressure, with the result that the blocking pin 15 is displaced into a release position (FIG. 1), in which the blocking pin 15 does not engage into the recess 20 in the cover 1, so that the cover 1 may be unscrewed from the compensating reservoir 5. With the cover 1 screwed onto the compensating reservoir 5, with a rising pressure in the compensating reservoir 5 the piston 19 is pressed away from the cylinder cover 23 counter to the force of the spring element 27, with the result that the blocking pin 15 connected to the piston 19 moves into the recess 20 in the cover 1 and thereby secures the latter against being unscrewed from the compensating reservoir 5.

[0044] In FIG. 2, the blocking pin 15 is arranged in the blocking position, the cover 1 not being illustrated for the sake of clarity. When the pressure in the reservoir interior falls, so that the spring force applied to one end face of the piston 19 by the spring element 27 exceeds the pressure forces acting on the opposite piston end face, the piston 19 is displaced back again in the direction of the cylinder cover 23 and the blocking pin 15 is thus moved into its release position. It becomes clear from the above statement that the actuation of the blocking device 13 is controlled, here, by the pressure prevailing in the compensating reservoir 5.

[0045] By the blocking device 13 being designed according to an example embodiment of the present invention, the displacement of the blocking pin 15 into its release and blocking position may take place automatically. The securing of the cover 1 against an opening of the compensating reservoir 5 in the event of excess pressure in the cooling system may be achieved by a form fit which, in the exemplary embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, is implemented by a “peg-hole connection”.

[0046] It can be seen in FIG. 1 that the recess 20 formed, for example, by a bore is provided on a peripheral annular collar 31 on the closing part 9.

[0047] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the connection piece 11 has on its inside a peripheral annular step 33 provided with a passage orifice 35, through which the blocking pin 13 passes from the reservoir interior during its displacement into the blocking position. The blocking device 13 is arranged in a receptacle 37 accessible from the reservoir interior and is fastened to the compensating reservoir 5, for example, by a cylinder 17 being pressed into the receptacle 37 on the compensating reservoir.

[0048] So that, after the cover 1 has been rotated onto the compensating reservoir 5, the recess 20, which is located in the cover 1 and into which the blocking pin 15 is to move in the event of excess pressure in the compensating reservoir 5, in order to secure the cover 1 against being unscrewed, stands above the blocking pin 15 arranged at a fixed location, a device 39 is provided. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in the figures, the device includes stop elements 41A and 41B which are formed in one piece on the outer part 7 of the cover 1 and which, with the cover 1 properly screwed on, butt against stops 43A and 43B provided on the compensating reservoir 5 and thereby prevent the cover 1 from being further rotated. A positionally accurate arrangement of the recess 20 with respect to the blocking pin 15 may thereby be ensured. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A reservoir, comprising: a cover configured to close an orifice; and at least one blocking device configured to block the cover against opening in accordance with excess pressure in the reservoir, the blocking device arranged to block the cover by a form fit.
 2. The reservoir according to claim 1, wherein the blocking device includes at least one displaceably mounted blocking pin arranged on the reservoir and movable into a recess arranged in the cover.
 3. The reservoir according to claim 2, further comprising: a piston/cylinder unit configured to displace the blocking pin into a blocking position; and a spring device configured to displace the blocking pin into a release position by a spring force.
 4. The reservoir according to claim 2, wherein actuation of the blocking device is controllable by a pressure prevailing in an interior of the reservoir.
 5. The reservoir according to claim 1, wherein actuation of the blocking device is controllable as a function of a temperature in the reservoir.
 6. The reservoir according to claim 1, wherein the orifice is arranged in a connection piece, the cover one of rotatable and screwable onto the connection piece, the cover including a closing part configured to project into the connection piece in a rotated-on state, the cover including a recess configured to receive the blocking device one of arranged on a circumference of the closing part and extending in a direction of longitudinal extent of the connection piece.
 7. The reservoir according to claim 1, further comprising an arrangement configured to positionally accurately reproducibly locate the cover with respect to the blocking device so that a blocking pin of the blocking device is movable into a recess of the cover in a screwed-on position.
 8. The reservoir according to claim 1, wherein the blocking device includes at least one displaceably mounted blocking pin arranged on the cover and movable into a recess arranged in the reservoir.
 9. The reservoir according to claim 1, wherein the reservoir is arranged as a compensating reservoir of a cooling system having a cooling liquid adapted to cool an internal combustion engine.
 10. The reservoir according to claim 2, further comprising means for controlling actuation of the blocking device in accordance with a pressure prevailing in an interior of the reservoir.
 11. The reservoir according to claim 1, further comprising means for controlling actuation of the blocking device as a function of a temperature in the reservoir.
 12. The reservoir according to claim 2, further comprising means for displacing the blocking pin into a blocking position and for displacing the blocking pin into a release position by a spring force.
 13. The reservoir according to claim 1, further comprising means for positionally accurately reproducibly locating the cover with respect to the blocking device so that a blocking pin of the blocking device is movable into a recess in the cover.
 14. A reservoir, comprising: cover means for closing an orifice; and blocking means for blocking the cover means by a form fit against opening in accordance with excess pressure in the reservoir.
 15. A cooling system, comprising: a compensating reservoir including a cover configured to close an orifice and at least one blocking device configured to block the cover against opening in accordance with excess pressure in the reservoir, the blocking device arranged to block the cover by a form fit. 